Qualitative research for the information professional: A practical handbook

Published just 7 years after the first edition was released, this second edition of Qualitative Research for the Information Professional: A Practical Handbook lives up to its title; it is indeed practical. Most general texts about qualitative research are long on theory and short on specific instructions (e.g., Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Miles & Huberman, 1984). The opposite is true here. A qualitative research newcomer could conceivably read this text and then undertake a small-scale project on his or her own. The newcomer would be wise to supplement this highly pragmatic text with another text of greater theoretical value (such as the previously mentioned Denzin & Lincoln, 2000; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; or Miles & Huberman, 1984), because Gorman and Clayton’s volume discusses specific qualitative methods within a largely decontextualized framework, divorcing the methods from the various philosophical and sociological perspectives that underlie them. The book is divided into 14 chapters. Each chapter discusses a step in the qualitative research process or details a particular qualitative research method. Each chapter begins with Focus Questions, which briefly summarize the main themes, and concludes with suggestions for further reading. Each chapter also includes one or more Research Scenarios (some fictional, some apparently drawn from the authors’ own experiences, although citations to particular projects are not given) to illustrate the main points discussed in the chapter. For example, Chapter 6, Beginning Fieldwork, includes a research scenario entitled Gaining Entry by Fitting the Surroundings. It discusses various entry barriers met by a researcher who studied the status of librarians within the organizational culture of a theological college, and his search for a suitable key informant. Much of the book is comprised of very practical advice, such as: